Silver Haired Savior
by AquaKBenten
Summary: After many years of torment, Youko saves a water neko from a horrible fate. He allows her to come with him to his clan. This is their story together. Summary isn't great but the story is... at least I think so . YoukoxOC
1. Chapter 1: The meeting

Aqua stared out of her window at the sky yawning

Aqua stared out of her window at the sky yawning. She didn't want to sleep. Then turned her attention to the forest. She saw a rustling and saw a group of people emerge from the brush. They seemed to be led by a person with shining silver hair. Aqua watched them curiously as they crept towards the castle. 'By the way they are sneaking around; I would say that they're probably thieves. This should be fun to watch,' she thought then thought better of it, 'No, this will be fun to help out.' She turned to head out of the room. She didn't see that the silver haired person caught a glimpse of her retreating figure.

Aqua quietly snuck to the stairs. She jumped off the railing, landing gracefully. She hurried to the path to the vault. She arrived there shortly before the strangers. She undid one trap after another down the stairs, always in front of them, moving fast and in the shadows so they didn't see her. As they got closer to the vault the harder the traps became. 'Shit! I wish I had more practice on this one,' she thought as she fiddled with wires her back to the stairs on the last one. 'Yes!' Aqua thought once she deactivated it. All of them walked past. Aqua was about to stand up, but something suddenly grabbed her forearm and held tightly. She looked up into a pair of golden eyes. "My, my. What do we have here? It looks like very pretty kitty," said a person with a male voice, "Now what are we going to do with the kitty?" Aqua growled softly then stopped. "If you're going to kill me, do it. It's not a life I'm crazy about," said Aqua indifferently and looked away, muttering under her breath, "Anything would be better than continuing to live here." If the person heard, they didn't react. "Killing you wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Now what could be so bad that someone so beautiful and obviously smart wouldn't choose life over death?" asked the person. "Him," said Aqua nodding to a painting of Kito near the vault entrance. "That's who you're robbing," said Aqua. "Why were you helping?" he asked. "Kito doesn't deserve this. He earned all this selling girls, to be slaves, toys, or if you're lucky, they'd kill you straight off and eat you once they got you home," Aqua said voice filled with anger, "But if you're more than unlucky you end up like me. Most others have a damn name!" She punched a step and it created a fairly large crater without effort. The person felt pity for her. Then she looked up at him in surprise. "You think I'm smart? Why?" she asked. The person loosened their grip a bit. "Your skill with the traps and how you move indicate your cleverness. Not to mention, your eyes are brimming over with intellect," the man said reassuringly. Aqua stared in shock, not used to many people complimenting her. He pulled her up to stand. He saw her hand was bleeding. Gently holding it up to his mouth and licked up the blood. "I'll let you leave with us on one condition," he said softly. "What?" Aqua asked. "You have to say 'please' and tell me your name," he said, "well two." "Please. And my name is Aqua," said Aqua forgetting past attempts to escape. Something about this person made her want to trust him. "I'm Youko Kurama," said the person smiling. In the back of her head that name clicked but Aqua couldn't figure what made it do so. He stepped out the shadow, pulling her out behind him. Aqua saw it was the one with silver hair who led the others in, not to mention the most gorgeous man she had every seen. He had golden eyes, which brought her comfort. "I saw you when you came out of the woods," said Aqua. "And I saw you when you were leaving your window," said Youko, "I'll be right back". Aqua nodded and when Youko was out of hearing distance she heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. "What are you doing you little bitch?! You know you're not supposed to be out of your chamber, let alone down here!" a guard growled. Unlike what Youko had said, this did not surprise Aqua at all. "If I'm a bitch, what does that make you?" Aqua shot back. He grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into a wall then threw her on the steps, nor did that surprise her. She rubbed her neck. "Shut up! That's why once I inform Kito, and add to the report, you won't be able to even move a finger. If that doesn't happen when he does it, I can finish the job! I would kill you right now if you weren't master's pet!" he yelled. He ground his foot into her left leg. Then the guard picked Aqua up off the ground making her stand on her hurt leg and pulled back his hand to punch her. Aqua cringed waiting for the blow but it never came. She looked up and Youko was standing in front of her. The guard's fist hit Youko's hand instead of Aqua's face. "Didn't anyone tell you its wrong to hit girls?" he asked coolly. "Who the hell are you?!" the guard exclaimed. Youko just turned around to face Aqua. "Are you hurt?" he asked. "I'm fine," she said then pain shot through her left leg. Aqua grimaced. Youko looked at her leg, which was red. He picked her up bridal style. "You are going to be in so much pain once Master finds out! Once he catches you, you'll wish you were dead!" shouted the guard after them as Youko walked up the stairs. The rest of the thieves followed. "Then I guess he won't catch her. I refuse to allow you to hurt her any longer," said Youko flatly. Aqua looked up at him surprised. He turned to one of the thieves with bat wings. "Kill him," Youko ordered. The thief nodded and killed him with his scythe. Then quickly and quietly they left the castle. They ran fast through the forest. "You can go to sleep if you like. It might take a while to get back to our lair. I'll wake you when we get there," Youko said kindly. Aqua nodded. She was tired. After she drifted off to sleep, the one with bat wings came up alongside Youko. "So. What are you going to do with her? The others wanted me to ask," he said. "I don't really know right now Kurone," said Youko. "Why did you take her anyway? Does Youko, the most cold hearted thief, or person for that matter, I know has feelings for this girl? Be it pity or something else, you took her side," Kurone asked eyeing the sleeping girl in Youko's arms, "I'm at a complete loss about you and your mind." "Let it go Kurone. Tell the men to let it go too. If they have a problem, tell them to talk to me," ordered Youko, "You didn't see how indifferent she about her fate, as long it wasn't the one she had. She didn't beg for her life or for me not to hurt her. For some reason, that really bothered me." Kurone didn't say another word. When they got to the lair Youko took her into a vacant room, and then finding no reason to interrupt her sleep, laid her on the bed he stared at her. 'She's beautiful,' he thought. He pulled up the covers. Youko turned off the lights and closed the door as he left.


	2. Chapter 2: New Home

Chpt 2

Chpt 2

Aqua awoke in a warm bed and looked around. She smiled to herself. She was afraid it might have been a dream and that she was really still with Kito. Youko knocked on the door. "May I come in?" he asked. "Yeah, sure," said Aqua. He brought a t-shirt and jeans with him. "This was all I could find so far that I thought would fit you. We don't have many girls' clothes because we don't have many girls around. Actually the truth is there are rarely girls period," Youko said smirking. "Thank you so much," said Aqua, "I'll try to leave as soon as possible so I don't cause any trouble." "Stay here as long as you like. The others know if they have a problem with it, I can make sure they don't have to deal with it anymore," said Youko, "You won't be a problem. Plus it will be easier to watch you to make sure they don't find you again." Aqua smiled, relieved by his kindness. "I have to go and help with distributing the loot. Feel free to go anywhere you like, unless the door is locked. No huge secret but people still want their privacy," said Youko, "I'll be able to talk to you after." Aqua nodded and Youko waved and left. Aqua changed quickly and went outside. It was so different than Kito's castle. She felt free for the first time she could really remember and loved the feeling, but there was still a slight damper on her spirit. She realized she still had on a collar that Kito made her wear. Making her claws sharp she cut it off. The fall to the ground seemed to be slow motion. Then she picked it up one last time, shredding it into scraps. Now she truly felt free from him. She sat down in the grass and looked up at the sky. The wind blew her hair around. But her hair wasn't the only thing the wind blew. "I can't believe he's letting that girl stay! She will just get in the way!" she heard someone say, the wind carrying their words, "No one here wants her." Aqua looked at her feet sadly.

Youko listened to the complaints without interest. "I have a simple solution," said Youko interrupting one of the others. "Yeah! Get rid of that girl. Girls will only slow us down, and get into trouble. And since we can't use her for our own needs, she's useless!" one yelled. "Not what I had in mind. My solution is that I can send all of those who have a problem to a place where the only problem is how are you going to live till the next day," said Youko bluntly, "Same goes for if you touch her. Now does anyone still have a problem?" No one answered. "Good," Youko said and turned and left. Though some of the thieves were still mad, they did not voice their opinions for fear of their lives. But most respected Youko's decisions and trusted those decisions because he did what he thought best and had always done so. "Youko! Are you really going to stick to your decision?" Kurone asked going after him. "Yes. I will," he said, "Now if you'd excuse me…" Youko walked past Kurone and outside. Aqua turned to see Youko walking up. "Hey," she said. "Hi. So you've been out here the whole time?" Youko asked. Aqua nodded. Youko picked up the remains of the collar. "I was going to ask you about this, but I think by the way it's torn you hate it," said Youko. "Hate is an understatement," said Aqua, and then suddenly, "I think I'm going to find my original home." Youko blinked, "Okay. If you want. When?" "I'm not sure," said Aqua after a pause. "I think you'd make a great thief. How about this, I'll train you and teach you to fight, then after you go stealing with us once you're ready, you can decide then," offered Youko. "That sounds good," agreed Aqua. Aqua stretched out on the grass and closed her eyes. Youko watched her, she seemed so much happier. His eyes scanned over her resting form. 'I feel so different when I'm next to her. I feel relaxed and like nothing else matters other than me keeping her with me,' Youko thought to himself. Aqua opened her eyes and turned her head to the side, looking at the fox. Kurone's foot entered her vision. Turning her head upward, she looked into his purple eyes. Aqua sat up. "Aqua this is my 2nd in command, Kurone," said Youko, "Kurone, this is Aqua." "Hi, nice to meet you," said Kurone smirking. "Its nice to meet you too," said Aqua. "Hey Aqua, there is a lake over this hill," said Kurone. Aqua got the message. "Thanks," she said and walked off. "Daydreaming were we?" mocked Kurone, "Did it revolve around you getting laid by that very hot girl?" "Shut up," growled Youko. Kurone smirked again. If he had had a death wish, he might have tried to test Youko by either saying something else or try to mess with Aqua, but seeing, as he did not, he stayed silent. Youko really seemed like this girl. However, he couldn't blame him; there was something about her that peeked his interest, though not nearly as much as Youko and his behavior. "So, I'm guessing you have some clue as to what we are going to with her now. Am I correct?" asked Kurone. "She said she was going to go to her original home. But she's going to stay here so I can train her. I told her she could be a great thief and she can choose for good after she goes stealing with us," said Youko. "You just don't want her to leave. I can tell that you…" Kurone was cut off by a random thief approaching. "Please come or they'll start without you," he said to Youko. "Don't worry. I'll make sure nothing happens to the girl," said Kurone seeing Youko's annoyed look. "I told you all it was a free day. Why are they so eager to do more work?" muttered Youko, sighing he stood and dusted himself off and followed the other thief into the lair.

Aqua played in the water while Youko and Kurone talked. She was content and then what she overheard repeated in her head. 'But they're probably right. I'll just get in the way,' she thought. Her mood dropped and didn't put as much effort into playing with her water powers. "That's pretty cool," said Kurone watching her. "Oh. Thanks," said Aqua. "So, I'm just curious, why did you want to run away?" asked Kurone. "I was tired of being someone's stress ball," she said bluntly. "Okay. I'll leave it alone," Kurone said. "It's okay," said Aqua looking into the distant horizon.


	3. Chapter 3: Training

For the rest of that day Aqua explored the surrounding area and lair. The next morning she was awakened by a knock on her door. She opened the door and Youko stood there. "Would you like to start training today?" he asked. Aqua nodded, "That sounds good." Youko led her to an open field surrounded by trees and he showed her the beginning fighting stance. Aqua quickly caught on to everything he said and did. It only felt like a half hour but 4 hours had passed. She was tired but not enough to stop. Youko was very impressed. He had expected her to ask to stop by now but she was as passionate as when they started. Another hour later Aqua plopped down exhausted and panting. Youko was also tired, which he really didn't expect to happen when he got out there that morning. Aqua was still breathing hard. "Did I do well?" asked Aqua. "Well doesn't begin to cover it," Youko answered. Aqua smiled. After another half hour break they began to train again. They had to stop because the sun was fading from the sky and the stars became visible, one by one. Youko was leaning against a tree and Aqua sat on her knees. Aqua stared at the sky. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked softly. Youko walked to her side to get a better look. "Yes. It is," said Youko, and then thought to him self, 'Only your beauty surpasses it.' Youko wondered why this thought came into his head. They walked back to the lair. After a few minutes of silence Aqua asked, "So what are we going to learn tomorrow?" "Well I'm pretty sure you have the fighting basics down so we can work with manipulating energy and using your powers to a higher potential," answered Youko. "Cool. I look forward to it," Aqua said happily. She went into her room. "Sleep well," she said. "You too," said Youko. Aqua collapsed on her bed exhausted and went strait to sleep.

_Dream "My pet. Did you think that you could get away from me? For you disobedience, you will watch as your little friends suffer," Kito said slapping her. Two of Kito's servants held Aqua, forcing her to her knees. A pair of hunters carried in a cage with a mountain lion and her 3 cubs. "No!" Aqua cried, "Please don't hurt them!" "Yes, I found out how you have grown attached to this particular creature. And you will watch as they are killed! This is your punishment for disobeying me!" Kito yelled. "Please let them go!" Aqua pleaded, "They did nothing, it was my fault; I did it!" Kito just glared and slapped her again. Black dots momentarily danced across her vision. Aqua tried to pull free but they just held her arms tighter. "Please Master," Aqua begged sobbing, "Let them go." It was too late; the hunters had pulled out a cub. Aqua tried to look away but Kito grabbed her chin and made her watch as a hunter started by cutting off the cub's tail. Then he started skinning the cub alive, its cries stabbing her heart. The mother watched crying out helplessly to her dying cub. "Stop! Please stop!" Aqua screamed crying._

_Dream End_

Aqua heard some one calling her name. She woke up, realizing the she was really crying. It was Youko who was trying to wake her from her nightmare. To her surprise, once she looked into his golden eyes she felt calm and safe. "Are you okay? I heard you scream," Youko asked stroking her hair softly. Aqua tried to rub the tears from her eyes and take deep breaths to finish calming herself. "I'm sorry," Aqua said looking down, "I probably woke others too." "Look, you're fine. A bomb could go off and most of the guys here wouldn't hear it. They really wake up if something is in their room though or if any mentioning of food, go figure," Youko chuckled and sat on the bed next to her. "What about you?" Aqua asked looking back up at him. "I was already awake. I couldn't sleep so I was just thinking," Youko said smiling her. Aqua smiled back at him. "Well, I don't think I can go back to sleep, so I think I'll earn my keep and make breakfast," Aqua said getting out of bed, she then giggled, "I made a rhyme." "Just remember, there are a lot of them," Youko sighed, "And they're guys. And be careful in the kitchen, I think some of the things that used to be food now bite." Aqua giggled. She headed to the kitchen, and began to look for edible food-like ingredients to put together. Youko followed her into the kitchen to keep her company and lend a hand if she needed it. "Are you going to protect me from the big bad moldy bread?" Aqua asked eyes wide in mock innocence. "You shouldn't joke about it; I saw it attack a man once. It completely mauled him," Youko warned. His face serious but his eyes showed amusement.

Youko continued Aqua's training. He switched between weapon combat and fighting with her powers. Out of the weapons she tried the two she grasped the quickest were the sword and the whip. Youko suspected that she instinctively knew how to fight, however she just wasn't able to reach that instinct on her own. He created a mock heist in their hideout with traps and guards, which Aqua passed fairly quickly. After a little less than a month of training, she had most things semi mastered. Aqua's immediate trust of Youko was never called into question, which allowed Aqua to open up. Parts of her she thought were dead felt alive again. She never realized how much of herself she kept locked away until she sensed the box begin to leak. She began to be aware of joy, hope, self reliance, and other emotions she couldn't yet put a name to. She wished she could put a word to how she felt about the fox demon that rescued her and gave her life.

Almost all of the thieves accepted Aqua as one of them. Something that helped with the process might have been the fact that she could cook a decent meal and she proved that she didn't need looking after or protecting. At the beginning of the next month the clan began to plan a new heist for their newest recruit. It was to be fairly easy, but not so easy to be insulting. They planned to break into a manor in the next town, the family just moved in but they tried to go through many precautions to protect their nifty belongings.


	4. Chapter 4

The group decided to go in through a window on an upper level. After they took care of the first guards, they allowed Aqua's test to begin. She went off by herself to the vault. Aqua flew through one obstacle to the next, flawless for a first run. She gracefully evaded traps, and those that were tripped she made her way past them. Youko didn't doubt her ability to take out the guard considering how well she did in training. After acquiring her primary target, a painting from a deceased artist, Aqua grabbed a few shiny objects to earn a few extra bonus points. She met back up with Youko at the rendezvous point and was pleased with his approving expression. "My, my, aren't you an over achiever," Youko chuckled. Aqua smiled broadly. Together they made their way to the exit and the finish line.

Seeing her approach the entire clan cheered for her success. She jogged to them to show off her prizes. Suddenly a vaguely familiar voice called out. "Aquarius!" the voice shouted. A man made his way toward her and Aqua stared first in confusion then in shock. "Jin?" Aqua called back unsure. The man reached Aqua, picking her up and swinging her around. "Oh my god! What are you doing here, Jin?" she asked. "The same thing I've done for the past 70 years or so. Searching for you," Jin answered staring into her eyes. Youko was frozen a few steps away from them. "Now I must tell your mother that I've found you. She will be delighted that she can finally use those wedding plans she had made when she was still pregnant with you," Jin said chuckling. Aqua's smile faded instantly. "What wedding plans? Who is she trying to marry me to?" she asked panicking. She glanced at Youko, biting the inside of her cheek. "Me, darling," Jin said smiling then his face turned somber while he looked at hers, "Don't you remember that I am your fiancé?"

* * *

Sorry it was so short... just wanted a small cliffy before the next part. Next coming up in 5, 4, 3, 2, ...


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